MOTOR works on area’s 25-year plan

By Joseph Basco | jbasco@mrt.com

Published 10:20 pm, Monday, July 21, 2014

The Midland Odessa Transportation Organization (MOTOR) has begun work on a 25-year comprehensive plan for the Midland and Odessa area as localities are experiencing a bull market, but state and federal road funding is becoming bear-like.

The last MTP update -- in 2009 -- had projects that span from 2010 through 2035. Some of the completed projects that were in the 2009 MTP include East Loop 338 in Odessa and Nadine and Tom Craddick Highway in Midland.

The MTP is routinely updated every five years. This year’s version has to compensate for the current challenges in the Midland and Odessa area. Since the last update, both cities’ populations have rapidly grown to the point that organizations rely on estimates more than the 2010 U.S. Census count.

To use Midland County as an example, the U.S. Census Bureau determined a 136,872 population count in 2010. The bureau’s estimate on July 1, 2013 was 151,468.

“No one has a crystal ball,” Walker said. “But without knowing some idea of population growth, it’s hard to explain in a 25-year document why you think certain things should to be built.”

The other challenge MOTOR faces when updating the MTP is road funding at the state and national levels.

Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Transportation is estimating a shortfall in its Highway Trust Fund in August, according to its website.

MOTOR is funded by TxDOT, the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration; the latter two agencies are within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Local entities, such as the cities, counties and EZ Rider, also financially participate with MOTOR.

Walker described the MTP as a “fiscally constrained document” because of uncertainty surrounding funding.

“So if we come up with $300 million worth of project -- just to pull a number out of thin a -- we still have to show that the money can be reasonably expected,” Walker said.

Prioritizing the list of projects and land acquisition are two other MTP creation challenges, according to Walker.

With the challenges in mind, MOTOR plans to finalize the 2014 MTP, with an updated project list, and present it to its policy board for approval in November.

“By having an approved MTP, we are able to expedite improvements around the area,” Walker said. “We are able to make sure that projects can move faster through our partner agencies. The plan indicates a certain type of improvement, whether it is five more buses to be replaced in 2019 or a conversion to one-way frontage roads on Interstate 20.”